(WASHINGTON, DC) – Donald Trump is facing growing backlash from within his own party after agreeing to purchase at least 800,000 tons of Russian diesel fuel, a deal critics have branded a gift to the Russian dictator Vladimir Putin and a betrayal of Ukraine.
Six Republican senators, including Mitch McConnell and Thom Tillis, have joined Democrats in demanding Trump reverse the agreement, calling it “a gift to our adversary and a betrayal of our allies.” Trump defended the deal as the right choice for the American people, while critics have labelled it deplorable, morally wrong and even dumb.
The deal comes weeks before midterm elections, with diesel prices in the United States having reached a record of more than $6.50 (£4.85) a gallon several weeks ago before falling back to about $6.28 (£4.69). Prices remain nearly double where they were a year ago, placing Republican seats in Iowa, Nebraska and Kansas under pressure for the first time since 1932.
Professor Scott Lucas of the Clinton Institute at University College Dublin told The Trump Report that Trump is “panicking” over fuel prices and seeking someone to blame. “I’m going to blame Ukraine because they’re counterattacking, hitting Russian refineries,” Lucas said, characterising Trump’s domestic strategy.
Lucas said the Kremlin has manipulated Trump’s advisers, including real estate developer Steve Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, into proposing a refinery for refinery ceasefire that would disproportionately benefit Russia. Ukraine has only one oil refinery, severely restricted after previous strikes, while Russia operates a network of refineries across the country that Ukrainian forces have been targeting.
“What the Russians are saying is if Ukraine halts attacks on our refineries, we won’t attack their refineries,” Lucas said. “Who wins in that deal? That’s pretty obvious.”
According to The New York Times, during a six-hour meeting in Miami last week, Witkoff and Kushner discussed offering Russia major economic incentives including unfreezing assets and easing sanctions to secure a limited ceasefire. Russian officials have also dangled business opportunities, including the sale of Lukoil’s overseas assets valued at $22 billion (£16.4 billion), potential restoration of the Nord Stream pipelines and cryptocurrency ties to Trump’s family business.
Lucas said Witkoff and Kushner told Ukrainian officials that Putin is not prepared to end the war but believe the diesel deal could soften Moscow’s position. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called the deal a gift to Putin.
Concerns have also mounted over US intelligence sharing with Ukraine after five or six Russian ballistic missiles struck civilian infrastructure in Kyiv without air raid alerts sounding. Zelenskyy said Ukraine received no advance warning from its partners, stressing that intelligence is critical to saving lives.
Lucas said the administration is split between factions prioritising business opportunities and those who believe European and Ukrainian security still matter. “You have to do it with an erratic president with compromised advisers and by the way with a defence secretary whose primary interest is not the US military,” he said.
The deal has also raised questions about Trump’s motives. Writing in The Atlantic, Anne Applebaum suggested the diesel deal may be more about lowering fuel prices than ending the war, describing it as “an abrupt Hail Mary attempt to force Ukraine to surrender and to save the Russian economy.”
Lucas noted that the United States is a net exporter of diesel and could source fuel from Canada rather than Russia. “Trump is playing nicely with the autocrat who’s invading a neighbouring country rather than playing nicely with his neighbour who could help him out,” he said.
The host of The Trump Report, Maddie Hale, noted that Trump recently told a rally he could say “the stupidest things” and people would clap. Asked whether Trump genuinely believes Americans can be tricked into believing diesel prices are high because of Ukraine rather than the war with Iran, Lucas said: “Why not believe that? He doesn’t have the option of being honest because if he goes to Americans and says your diesel prices are high because the Strait of Hormuz is blocked everybody’s going to say well wait a minute how did that happen.”
Lucas said Trump prefers “a partnership with a man wanted for war crimes, Vladimir Putin, than he does with the country who was attacked by that wanted war criminal.”
The remarks were made on The Trump Report, hosted by Maddie Hale, on 14th October 2026. The programme was recorded in Sydney, Australia.
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